Elisha Nelson Manning, popularly known as Eli Manning, is an American football quarterback who plays for the New York Giants of the National Football League. The son of Archie Manning, a well-known former NFL quarterback, Eli Manning began his career in college football as a member of the Ole Miss Rebels football team, which represents the University of Mississippi. By the time he finished his senior year, he had won several awards such as the Maxwell Award for being the best all-around player of the country. Shortly after his graduation, he was drafted into the NFL by the San Diego Chargers, though very soon he was traded off to the Giants. Over the course of his career he turned out to be not only an excellent player but also one of the four quarterbacks in the history of NFL with at least 45,000 career yards, 300 touchdowns, four Pro Bowl appearances, as well as two Super Bowl Championships. He is also known for his philanthropic works, such as providing assistance to the victims of the Hurricane Katrina. He helped raise funds for the construction of The Eli Manning Children’s Clinics as well. Along with his brother Peyton and father Archie, he has co-authored a book named ‘Family Huddle’. The book describes in text and showcases through pictures how the Manning brothers used to play football in their early days.

Elisha Nelson Manning was born on 3 January 1981 in New Orleans in the United States to Elisha Archibald ‘Archie’ Manning III and Olivia. He is the youngest of their three sons. Though not much is known about his childhood, it was revealed that along with his brothers, he was trained by his father from quite an early age.

Eli Manning enrolled in the University of Mississippi in the year 2000. He started playing for the Ole Miss Rebels football team which represented his university, and after four years, he had a record of passing for a total of 10,119 yards and 81 touchdowns.

During his senior year, he won the Maxwell award as the country’s best all-around player along with finishing third in the competition for the Heisman Trophy. Because of his amazing performance, he was also named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.

During the 2004 NFL draft, he was selected by the San Diego Chargers as the number one overall pick. However, as he did not wish to play for them, he was immediately traded off to the New York Giants. With the Giants he signed a six-year contract which was worth $45 million.

Though his first season with the Giants was not very remarkable, the following year he was named the starter, and he led the team to a 2-0 record with victories against the Cardinals and Saints. However, they lost the next game against the San Diego Chargers, though a very impressive performance was displayed by Eli.

With his help, the team entered the SuperBowl XLII in 2007 where they faced the New England Patriots. The game resulted in a victory for the Giants, and Manning was declared the game’s Most Valuable Player. With the victory, Eli and his brother Peyton became the first set of brothers to win Super Bowl MVPs.

His performance in the next season was average, and in 2009, his performance improved as he ended the season with a career high of 4,021 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, a 62.3 completion percentage rating with a passer rating of 93.1.

He played brilliantly during the 2010 season as well. Though with his help, the Giants managed to defeat the Washington Redskins in the last game of the season, his team failed to enter the SuperBowl, which was ultimately won by the Green Bay Packers.

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Despite starting off with a poor performance during the 2011 season, the Giants later made a comeback, and successfully entered the SuperBowl XLVI as well. The game resulted in a victory for the Giants, after they defeated the Patriots with a score of 21-17.

His performance kept fluctuating over the next few seasons. At the end of the 2016 season, he had an overall career record of passing for 48,214 yards with 320 touchdowns. In February 2017, along with Larry Fitzgerald, he won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. It was the first time since the 2006 season when two players became co-winners of the award.

The awards won by Eli Manning in his college career include the Conerly Trophy for Best College Football Player in Mississippi, which he won twice, in 2001 and 2003 respectively, and the Maxwell Award, which he won in the year 2003.